Arcadia: Satoshi Effect
by KoushiroPaladin
Summary: Satoshi knew fate had it in for him when he awoke in a high-tech super academy with no recollection of how he got there. When danger and conspiracy strikes, can he find his way home before his constant bad luck gets him killed? AU. Pokeshipping.
1. Episode 1

This had trouble written all over it.

Body sore and mind hazy, Satoshi twisted and groaned awake on the hard tiled floor. Finding himself in a humid and dark shower room only served to confuse and worry him. Where in the world was he? Why was he in a shower stall of all places? These questions and more invaded his mind and made him even more worried. Thankfully, his pounding headache kept him from panicking.

Standing up only served to throw a head rush into his already painful migraine, causing him to stumble against the wall. His body felt tired and heavy, clothes damp with moisture and sweat. Whatever he was doing beforehand tired him out, perhaps blacking out from exhaustion. How he ended up here was a story he was both interested in and frightened to find out.

Clutching the wall, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves and gather his thoughts. His attempt to recall the events leading up to this point were halted by the sound of a locker slamming shut just beyond the glass door, followed by voices. Alert, he flattened his back against the wall and held his breath. Not knowing where he was and possibly intruding on someone was not his ideal way of waking up. Especially when he could not even remember how he ended up here in the first place.

With lithe and careful movements he slowly crept to the edge of the stall, peeking from the corner. His jaw dropped, catching an eye full of women busying themselves with getting dried and cleaned up. At this point, he really did not wish to know how he ended up in the women's locker room. As much as his instincts were screaming at him, he could not spot staring with wide eyes and scarlet face. He was not a pervert by any means, but it's easy to catch yourself stunned for a few seconds.

But as he suddenly locked eyes with a red haired beauty, he knew that moment of weakness screwed him over.

"Show yourself!" The woman called. Within an instant everyone froze, tension blanketing the area. He was caught.

Slowly stepping up to the sliding door, he raised his hands in surrender. There was no point in resisting. All he could do was pray they would give him a chance to explain himself before killing him. "I'm sor-RIE!" Satoshi yelped as his foot slid on a wet bar of soap. Speeding forward, he flailed his arms in a panic, grabbing onto a locker to try and stop himself from flying down the large locker room. Unfortunately, that merely changed his direction, sending him crashing into the very woman who spotted him.

Of course, it would his luck that she had yet to put on clothes.

Satoshi felt the horror of the situation dawn on him as he landed on her. "Oh god, are you al...right?" The last word barely came out as a squeak. As he looked down, his eyes widened and face burned bright red. Captured in his hands was a fist full of petite breast, taking notice of a cute star shaped mole on the right. His eyes slowly made their way to hers hesitantly, catching her heated gaze.

She was livid.

Her flaming emerald eyes cut into his frightened brown ones. The tension grew thicker with every second. This woman was about to explode. _'C-calm down. It was only a mistake. All I have to do is choose my words carefully and explain what happened.' _He knew it was far easier to think that than put it into practice, but it was far better than stay frozen in absolute shock and fear. He took a deep breath, willing the instinctive alarm blaring in his mind to calm down. "...I-I-" Before he knew it, her fist flew into his face, sending him sliding along the slippery floor.

In a way, he expected that to happen.

"Y-Y-You...why you...!" The woman was filled with so much anger and embarrassment she could barely formulate a coherent sentence.

The rock hard punch temporarily stunned him. Thankfully he was used to taking powerful blows so he was not instantly knocked unconscious. It would be his luck to run into a combat trained, angry woman who he sexually assaulted. It may have been an accident, but the look on her face destroyed any hope he had to end this confrontation peacefully. "P-please wait, I can explain!" Considering how much of the situation he understood, it was more of a lie to buy himself a few more seconds to live.

Jumping onto her feet, she flipped open her locker and slipped on the chrome bangle inside, activating the sophisticated device. Holographic wire frames appeared on her body before materializing into a tight fitting, red and white uniform. It was a cross between a combat wetsuit and a military uniform, red outlines of energy coursing through her body. The clothes came with a small assortment of gadgets and insignias he could not recognized, though the large sword on her back gave him a clear idea of what those gadgets were made for.

The next few words were curt and menacing. "I'm going to kill you!" The other girls lunged after him at the call of his imminent doom, readying to maul him.

Satoshi saw fit to put his best talent to use: Running like hell.

Slipping under the sword wielding woman's right hook, he dashed passed the flock of towel clad women for the glass sliding door that hissed open quick enough to allow him a chance to dodge what appeared to be a glowing combat dagger flying passed his head. It crackled with electricity as it struck the wall ahead, melting into it. That girl was seriously trying to kill him!

There were several women in the area all sharing similar uniforms, calling him many crude variations of pervert and other foul names. It did not take a genius to figure out he was a male in the female dominated zone. His life expectancy began to drop drastically once he noticed the mob of women chasing after him, aptly naming him the 'elusive pervert'.

Thankfully, the hallways were spacious enough to allow him room to maneuver and dodge the lethal projectiles hurled his way. Bright beams of light, followed by several sharp glowing objects were thrown, aiming to either take his life or disable him long enough for them to do so. To his horror, three girls jumped into his path as he spun around a corner. He was about to be trapped.

Thinking fast, he slid under the first woman, rolled onto his feet to avoid a sweeping low kick of the second, and was about to get cornered by the third who wielded glowing knuckle guards. It was as though the entire world was out to lynch him.

"I hate to do this, but you leave me no choice!" Always getting chased by bullies, criminals and would-be murderers aided Satoshi in an unexpected way, training him to move fast and judge attacks to dodge properly. With a forward step he dodged her fist and continued towards her. "Please forgive me!" It was a good thing he remembered to keep his stun needles in the hidden sleeve pockets of his lab coat for emergency use, such as now.

Sliding the thick three-inch metal through his fingers, he inserted the needles into her sides. A quick, but powerful spark went through the woman, temporarily paralyzing her muscles. With fluidity he turned around and threw his arms around hers, holding her wrist to control her arms. The oncoming mob paused but kept their guard. "S-Stay back!" Satoshi stuttered, making threatening notions with the girl's hands. "I-I have..." Looking down, he had no idea what she was actually using, except it glowed blue and would most likely hurt him if he touched it. "Blue, glowing thingies and I'm not afraid to use them!" Using his legs to make the paralyzed woman take steps back, he used the moment to catch his breath and keep the other people at bay. This situation was getting far out of hand, but at least he had everyone's attention.

"Please listen to me! I do not mean any harm! I don't know what I am doing here, nor how I got here. I am sorry if I had offended anyone or ended up seeing things I was not supposed to. Now, if you can let me leave here in peace, we won't have to resort to violence!" The sound of quick movement alerted him. Looking up, he gaped in terror.

"DIE!" The girl from earlier roared, flying over the crowd and towards him with a large, glowing broadsword in hand. Satoshi barely managed to side step the dangerous overhead strike that ruptured the floor, thankfully protecting the girl that he held captive. It was unknown whether she gained her strength through training or fury, but she wielded her weapon as though it was light as a feather, forcing him to parry her attacks with the woman's glowing knuckle guards. Each clash caused an electric spark to explode upon contact, a dazzling but blinding show that made him wince with each occurrence.

As his luck began to prove, the woman he used to defend himself was starting to get control of her body again. Within a few seconds she would have full movement.

"I'm sorry!" Satoshi twisted his body to hurl the girl at the attacker, knocking them both down. At that instant, the chase was on again.

Several minutes of escaping the murderous mob passed before he managed to temporarily lose them. Though there were signs and directions to help navigate personnel to various rooms and exits, he was not foolish enough to do so. It was a miracle he found that window when he did and immediately jumped out of it, realizing too late he was on the second floor. Were it not for the grassy patch he landed on, he would have idiotically broken a few bones.

After catching his breath and waiting for the stars in his eyes to dissipate, he started realizing just how far from home he really was. There were tall buildings and facilities as far as he could see, rich with symmetry and technology. The metropolis he was from was nowhere near as clean or nature-friendly as this place, but there was a gaping issue that grabbed his attention and made him feel truly alien.

There was no sky.

As much as it was a beauty to behold, the feeling of being trapped and helpless grew. It was like he jumped into a science fiction story he could not get out of, a dream he desperately wanted to wake from. He wanted to see sun and clouds, not spotlights and steel beams. Where on earth was he?

"I think he ran down here!"

"For the love of-" Satoshi flipped onto his feet and sprinted. He needed somewhere safe to hide so he could sort out the mess he somehow created.

As he made a break around the corner of the building's wall, he neglected to notice a someone else turning that same corner and collided with into her. As if déjà vu had a personal vendetta against him, Satomi ended up falling on top of this person. It took a moment to realize that this narrowed eyed individual was actually a woman, which he was incredibly thankful for. But unlike the other girl he ran into, his hands did not end up on any fleshy mounds this time, another helpful bonus.

But the same could not be said for their lips.

A powerful chill fluctuated within Satoshi's body, feeling hot contact from the woman's pink lips. Her light blue eyes were wide with shock, also noticing the sensation from their accidental kiss. What truly caught him off guard was the soft, white aura the victim's body began to exhibit. _'Why...is she glowing? What's happening?' _In all his years of medical training, he never heard of a kiss so powerful it made someone glow. Judging from her expression she was just as surprised. Speaking of glowing, his body did as well, but with a dark purple hue.

What on earth happened in that one kiss?

The kiss only lasted a few short seconds. They quickly broke it; Satoshi rolling away while the uniformed girl crawled back. Satoshi landed on all fours, staring worriedly at the girl who gingerly touched her lips with a shocked expression. His entire body felt strange, like a part of him just awoke to the kiss. Strange sensations aside, he felt the need to apologize before making another woman fly into a murderous rage.

"Y-you...!" The girl stared at him, utterly stupefied like he was. Her skin burned bright pink, more so than any embarrassed human he ever seen. That was a clear sign she was a Pokénoid, humans born with Pokémon genes. It's easier for one pokenoid to recognize another, carefully hiding their nature from racist humans. It was one of those things that ruined his childhood, forced to dye his white hair black so it blended with the curved horn on his head. The female pokenoid in front of him went from pink to red skinned.

It did not take a genius to realized it was a sign of rage.

"How dare you...ruin me! You stole it! Give back my precious treasure!"

"W-wait, what?" As frightened and freaked out as he was, he wondered less about the precious treasure he stole and more about the dangerous rifle she materialized after consulting the gadget on her arm, similar to the last girl he met, who also tried to kill him. One thing was painfully clear.

This was not going to end well.

With a dive, Satoshi avoided the three-round burst from the woman's rifle, scorching beams of light zipping past his head. A quick survey pointed him to the trees nearby for cover, making a dash behind it. Even with his previous run-ins with violent thugs, he was not familiar with so many people wanting to kill him with such ferocity. Hopefully he could make a plea for peace before he ended up dead. "Stop shooting, please! I don't know what I did that's worth killing me, but we can resolve this peacefully!"

"Don't take me for an idiot. I don't know how you found your way into the female's dormitory, but you're not getting away unpunished!" Satoshi peaked around the corner in time to see her rushing towards him, using the bladed edges of her rifle. He jumped onto the tree's thick branches in time to avoid meeting the same fate as the tree she cut into. The girl stopped halfway through the tree, glaring at the man crouching on the branch. It was a good thing he was light and agile. "Get down here and fight me like a man!" She growled, aiming her rifle.

"But I don't want to fight! I just want to understand why everyone wants to kill me all the sudden!" He gasped as he avoided another three-round burst by rolling off the tree, landing on the ground with cat-like reflexes. _'I need to get her to listen to me, but not with that gun in her hand.'_ Crouching on all fours, he slowly strafed around the girl, gauging her movements and aiming trajectory. He was not a fighter by any means and hated the idea of hurting anyone, even when forced to. But there were two things he was good at: Running and reading his opponent's moves.

The girl gave him an incredulous glance, baffled. "Do you really think I'm that stupid to believe that? I've never heard of an Arcadian that doesn't want to fight."

_'An Arcadian?'_ He never heard that term in his life, but at least he was fully aware of how far from home he was. "I'm not an Arcadian! I don't even know how I got here!"

"Bullshit!" She fired another burst of laser fire.

Seeing his moment, he bounced side to side with incredible agility while sprinting towards her, using his hands for traction and extra boost in speed. Getting close, he braced the stun needle in his fingers and went in for the attack. When his stun drew close to her side, he felt her hand grab his wrist in a vice grip. He paled upon seeing her gun aimed at his head.

"Goodnight." She fired without a hint of hesitation.

Blinded by the intense flash, the force sent him sliding along the ground several feet from the nine rounds she shot him point blank with. His head nearly exploded from the headache, tossing and turning while holding his head. Lying on the ground, his body pulsed with a cold sensation that seemed to help ease the agony, his vision slowly gaining focus. "W-what...!" Sitting up in a crouch, he noticed the woman staring at him with a face of utter shock, nearly dropping her weapon.

"How did you...but I just...that's impossible!" She was not the only one surprised.

Satoshi was almost positive his head was supposed to be splattered on the ground by now. Perhaps her weapon was made merely to stun rather than kill, but even then, he should have been knocked out or still suffering a major migraine.

In fact, he felt fantastic.

Before he could finish determining if her weapon had a secret heal switch of some sort, a chill went through his body. The girl stumbled back, too surprised to utter a word. He reached out dumbly to her, but in a panic she fired at him again. He shielded himself out of reflex, noticing a black aura around his body. This time the lasers did not even hurt him, somehow getting absorbed into his body. His body responded to the beams of light like a heavy dose of caffeine, filling him with energy.

"What the hell are you!" She continued firing at him, bewildered by this twist of events.

Rather than think about why her weapons were suddenly healing him, he sprang onto his feet, prepared to charge at her while making use of the advantage. Before he could move his vision distorted, blinding him momentarily. When he regained focus half a second later he found himself standing next to her.

How the hell did he do that?

The danger of his situation brought him out of his surprise, making his move. Before the girl could swing her blade, he slipped his palm through her arms and knocked the rifle out of her hands, sending it skidding across the ground. Catching her eyes glancing at her rifle, he found himself moving instantly again, standing over her rifle and away from the girl. Before she could rush him, he grabbed the gun and aimed it at her, halting her advance. He did not know how to use it, or if he even could, but that was not his plan. He just wanted her to listen.

"Will you hear me out now? I'm not trying to hurt you. Look." To prove his case, he tossed the gun to the side, keeping his gaze on her.

The girl shook the surprise off her face, glaring at him. "That proves nothing. You couldn't use it without my identification anyway!"

A dumbfounded look crossed his features as he raised an eyebrow. If that was the case, why did she stop? Either she was bluffing, or she did not want to be on the wrong end of the rifle's bayonet, which was still active. Whatever the case, he was not going to tempt fate.

"That's not the point I'm trying to make here!" He exasperated. Whatever quick movements he did before made him feel exhausted, losing that burst of energy he gained earlier. He planned on figuring that out later, too busy trying to determine what made sense. "Listen, ma'am. I'm very sorry about running into you. But please, hear me out. All I want to do, is figure out where I am and how I ended up here. I don't want to sneak into any locker rooms or try to do anything illegal. I'm lost, confused, and a little scared out of my mind to be honest. I could really use your help."

The woman's glare dropped, giving him an odd glance. "...You're really not from around here, aren't you?" It wasn't a question, a look of curiosity on her face.

"That's right! I-I'm not even sure how I got here at all! I just want to find my way back home. That's all."

"But...that can't be right. There's no way you could just accidentally walk into Arcadia, especially the Guardian's sector. Ugh, what a mess." She ran a hand down her face, frustrated.

Though he had no idea what she was talking about, he made a mental note of being in the Guardian's sector. That way, he would never make the mistake of coming here again. "Trust me, I don't want to stay in a place where everyone seems to want me dead. I just want to get home." Palming his head, he released a heavy sigh. He would kill for a bed right now.

Now that he actually had a moment to rest and collect his thoughts, he was able to remember most of the events that lead up to him somehow ending up in this place. He remembered purchasing something from a store, then bumping into someone, then there was chasing, lots of running, and then entering a chamber... "Aaron!" Satoshi jumped in surprise, the string of events slowly coming together.

The girl gasped at the mention of the name. She rushed up to him, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Descriptions. Now." She demanded, blue eyes burning with anxiety.

Satoshi drew back slightly, startled by her sudden interest in the man. "A-ah...black hair. Brown eyes. Probably around six feet tall, and-gah!" He gasped as she started shaking him violently.

"How do you know him? Where did you see him? Was he hurt at all? Where is he now? Answer me, dammit!" She continued to barrage him with questions, growing more impatient each second.

"P-please s-stop s-shaking m-me!" He pleaded, getting dizzy. When she stopped trying to shake the answers out of him, there was a moment of relief until he saw what she was looking at.

Two men dressed in black heavy combat suits and fiber glass helmets approached him, bearing an air of superiority. He had a feeling they weren't passing by to say hello. "Is this the intruder, Mirei?" One of them asked, their voice sounding hollow through the mask.

Mirei glanced between Satoshi and the guards hesitantly, disappointed. "...Yeah." She sighed, giving him to the two intimidating guards. Not even bothering to resist, he allowed the soldiers to arrest him. He couldn't help but release another heavy sigh.

What in the world did he get himself into?


	2. Episode 2

There was no telling what would happen.

As a paramedic and all-around friendly man, Satoshi worked frequently with law enforcement and was generally liked by a good number of them back at home. But he had never been arrested before, and not knowing what was about to happen scared him out of his wits. It was betting than getting chased by violent women with deadly weapons, but this did not make him feel much better. Maybe a small conversation would help curb his anxiety and help him figure out where the hell he was.

"Excuse me, sir?" He called at one of them.

"Stay silent until we reach our destination. We'll hear what you have to say then."

_'So much for conversation.'_ Satoshi thought wryly. Rather than test their patience, he kept his mind occupied by observing his surroundings.

Uniformed personnel busied themselves with all kinds of activities, the most common being studying and physical training. Most likely he had somehow ended up in some sort of military training facility. More than that, everything was advanced, from the way everyone used the device on their arm to access and retrieve items and information to traveling by use of large glowing pads on the floor, teleporting beacons. There were such beacons back home, but they were new and expensive to use, a luxury. Here it was public transportation, and their current destination.

Stepping onto a teleportation platform, the guards entered the coordinates on the holographic interface that appeared on their bracer devices. In all the confusion, Satoshi had forgotten that he had one too, a Personal Assistant Device commonly referred to as P.A.D.. Legal citizens were required to have one for identification, but it was no burden since they had thousands of applications and upgrades they could use; from communication to even teleporting designated simple items to the user's location. The ones he had seen so far were more compact and sophisticated, able to summon clothes and weapons. Amazing as it was, all it did was make him feel even more alien. It roared to life, preparing for transfer.

Then it died.

As the device powered down, Satoshi felt an icy cool course through his body. That energizing feeling returned to him in the same fashion as Mirei's lasers. Without realizing it, he had absorbed the power straight out the beacon. The guards did not seem to realize he might have been the cause of the issue, attempting to troubleshoot the device. Something strange was going on, and he was somehow in the center of it.

The guards had called the power plant to find out the problem, only to discover they had no idea what was going on. Satoshi was the only one who knew the truth, yet understood nothing about this newfound power. True, Pokenoids are sometimes gifted with abilities known as bioarms, but he never heard of an ability that could drain power. It was shocking to discover he had super powers other than bad luck.

If only he was kidding about his luck.

This power-draining ability could lead to a major problem. Should he mention it might be his doing? It might help the situation, but there is a good chance they would throw him in a laboratory, never to be seen again. That did not help his nerves, still a little shaken from his back to back near death experiences.

The guards were distracted, giving Satoshi a chance to test a theory. If he was able to somehow take in energy, then maybe he could release it. Slowly crouching, he pressed his finger tips on the beacon. With a small amount of focus he felt a cool tingle flow through his fingertips. Whatever he did made the beacon blink, confirming his guess of giving and receiving energy.

The device roared to life, immediately acting upon the coordinates put in place. With a start, Satoshi recognized the distorted feeling from earlier as he was moved from one location to another. Whether he wanted to believe or not, somehow, he made himself teleport. Ridiculous it was, but how else could he explain absorbing laser fire and instant movement? That in itself was a shock he did not want to experience again.

Warping into the next area, Satoshi faced a large building with the words "Arcadia Security" emblazoned in gold letters. His anxiety started building at the numerous thoughts of. He was sure they did not want him dead yet, otherwise they would have killed him back at the guardian sector. Whatever the case, he knew there was no chance of getting out of here without help. Better to start by being on their good side...even if he had a horrible start.

Upon entry, he was reminded of a luxury office building. Everything was kept in pristine condition, office personnel bustling by, and security carefully positioned at strategic areas. He was taken to a receptionist, who was not happy to be here. She did not even bother to look at them, staring at several documents on her holographic 3D screens.

"May I help you?" Judging from the tone, it was apparent she had better things to do.

"We're here to see Shigeru."

The girl glanced at them, surprised. "The dean? Sure. Take the elevator to the tenth floor and head for room ten-dash-five. I'll let him know of your arrival." Satoshi was hauled off again.

As he approached the main hallway, he was stopped at a security checkpoint. The handcuffs were released, but his stun needles and P.A.D. were confiscated, the personal ID being carried by the guards. It was not long after that they reached the designated office. The door slid open with a hiss, allowing them entry. What Satoshi saw next was unexpected.

"Go a little lower...ah yeah, that's the stuff." A man slightly older than Satoshi sighed blissfully, lying on his stomach atop a wide desk. The female masseuse straddled his hips, pressing her hands on his bare back.

Even with the mask, Satoshi could tell the guards were a little uncomfortable watching this man get a massage. One of the guards stepped forward, albeit hesitantly. "Uh...R-Shigeru, sir."

"Yeah...just like that. Say my name." Shigeru sighed, his eyes closed. Glancing at each other, the guards were speechless, feeling awkward. The small brace on his arm rang. "This is the dean speak-ooh! Yeah, right there, baby. N-no, not you. Someone wants to see me? Tell them I'm in a meeting and I'll deal with them after. Wait...what do you mean they're already on their way? Ugh, dammit, fine. I'll just say hello or something. Are we still up for tonight? Good, see you there. Make sure you wear that dress I like. Yeah, the one with the straps. Damn I love it when you talk like that! Alright, let me wrap up this little get together and we'll talk later. Alright, see you then." Canceling the call, he motioned the woman to get off, fastening his towel around the waist. It was only then he noticed the three strangers staring at him at the door.

There was a pause. "Don't stand there looking so stiff. Come in, come in!"

_'THIS is the dean!'_ Satoshi gawked, stepping in the office. The guy did not know the meaning of shameless. The guards followed suit, equally disturbed.

"Hey, you with the pretty face. We're about to have a meeting, so shoo." He waved the woman to leave the room. Facing the men, Shigeru sat on top of his table cross-legged, thankfully covering himself properly. "So...details?"

"This intruder infiltrated the female dormitory in the guardian sector. Chaser seven-oh-seven, Mirei, caught him as we arrived to the distress call of the students."

A wicked grin broke on Shigeru's face as he leaned towards Satoshi. "Oh ho ho! That's pretty impressive! Not many can break in there and come out alive. On top of duking it out with a tough tomboy like Mirei, that says something. You have my respects." Leaning back, he sighed. "But as a rule, I gotta suspend ya for a few weeks and take disciplinary action. Can't tolerate that kind of perverse behavior at this school."

Was this guy serious?

'Go along with it. This is the dean I'm talking to.' It was difficult for Satoshi to take his words seriously, especially when he was sitting on a desk with nothing but a towel.

"We have his P.A.D. here, sir." One of the guards delivered the technical bangle to Shigeru, who proceeded to download Satoshi's information via his own pad. Satoshi could tell Shigeru found something shocking about his information, most likely the fact he did not belong to this school. "Holy...are you for real?" Moving the guards away, he helped Satoshi onto his feet. "Lock the doors and stand guard outside. I need to talk with this kid." They nodded, obeying his orders.

When Shigeru gestured him to sit in a chair, Satoshi had a feeling he found something interesting in his profile. What could it have been? "I can tell you've been through hell and back, but I'm going to need you to tell me everything that happened until you came here. Leave out no details." Shigeru seemed far more willing to hear him out than everyone else had. Finally.

He leaned back with his eyes towards the ceiling. A heavy sign left his lips. Now he remembered how he got into this mess. "I was out on a date right before the incident occurred. Everything was going great, which made me suspicious." He caught the look the dean was giving him and decided to elaborate. "I have a, well, knack for bad luck. I guess that's why I'm part Absol."

"An Absol Pokenoid? That's a very rare breed." Shigeru was genuinely interested.

"Too bad it only worsens my reputation with humans. I can only hide it by dying my hair." Satoshi tapped the sharp, dark colored bone that blended with his thick hair. "But back to what happened," He resumed, "I was about propose to her when I was interrupted by my sister." Dropping his head into one of his palms, a groan emanated from his throat.

"Why did she interrupt you?"

Satoshi knew he was going to find it stupid, but his sister had a streak for being careless. "She said I wasn't 'gangster' enough." He quoted with great irritation. "And when she interrupted me, well…"

"Yes?"

It was painful just to think about. "The ring ended up fall out the window. We were ten stories high in a fancy restaurant at the time."

"That's some tough luck. That isn't too bad…"

"I fell out the window with it."

Shigeru went slack jawed. "How the hell did you survive that?"

"I have good reflexes. That, and the guy I fell on cushioned my fall."

There was a pause as Shigeru's wide eyes fixated on Satoshi, disbelieving. "I've heard of bad luck, but that takes the cake."

"It gets worse I'm afraid."

"…WHAT!" Shigeru shouted in shock.

"Because that's when I noticed my uncle. He was in so much of a rush he didn't even notice me falling on the guy with the dark suit." Satoshi paused, remembering another detail. "Now that I think about it, there were people after him, wearing the same type of clothing the man had on. I was worried about the ring, but some of those men in black saw me while I was on top of him. I think you can imagine what happened next." Satoshi could still feel the fear in his chest as those men attacked him.

"Do you remember anything specific about those guys? Anything at all?"

"Only the fact they were using plasma weapons, like the ones this place uses. But thankfully my sister arrived in time to help me get away. She also saw my uncle running and confirmed he was being attacked as well. Even though we eventually caught up with him, there was a small problem."

"I'm gonna guess they followed you to him. Just great." Shigeru groaned.

"Everything happened so fast. I was getting chased, and I didn't want my girlfriend to get involved. There was no time to call the police, and Uncle Aaron was in danger. I had no choice but to find him and try what I could. We were surrounded and cornered, but Aaron had managed to use some weird device to try and get us somewhere safe. That was the last thing I remembered before ending up in the ladies locker room." He flushed, feeling dirty and embarrassed over the situation.

"Weird device? Ah, you mean an Emergency Relay. He probably tried to get you to the refugee center here." Shigeru nodded with understanding. "That explains why you got this code inside your P.A.D. there."

This caught Satoshi's attention. He vaguely remembered Aaron hastily downloading something into his and his sister's data storages. "Code?"

"It's an encrypted message. It also tells us that you and your sister are indeed his niece and nephew. I must warn you of something, and I cannot BEGIN to describe how important this fact is." Shigeru leaned in close, ushering Satoshi to focus. "You are related to the most important person in this entire place. You cannot tell anyone that you're related to him, no matter what. Not even your last name. Understand?"

Shigeru sounded dead serious about the issue. It was probably for security reasons he shouldn't reveal his relation to Aaron. What was his beloved uncle involved in? It would also explain Mirei's reaction when she heard his name. Hopefully he would never see her again. Too scary. "I understand."

"Good. Trust me, there's no telling what someone would do with that kind of information. Just in case, I'll keep your P.A.D. and issue you a different one for the time being." As Shigeru set the bangle on the table, he directed a confused glance at Satoshi. "But while we're on the subject, something doesn't add up. Teleporters are one-hundred-percent accurate. They have to be, otherwise you wouldn't be anything more than molecules right now. Long story short; it's impossible to teleport anywhere other than a set relay. How the hell did you pull off what was scientifically impossible?"

That was a good question. There was only one explanation Satoshi could think of. "I...think it was my fault. I somehow managed to make myself teleport."

Shigeru raised an eyebrow, casting a flat glance. "Are you high?"

"No! It happened when I fought that girl." No matter how many times he replayed the battle in his mind, he could not shake off frustration of not knowing how he was doing these things. "It makes sense, and yet it doesn't! How am I doing all this?" Satoshi felt himself panic with this new knowledge, absorbed in his thoughts. What was going on with him, he had no idea. It made things all the scarier. What else could he do? What were the chances he could hurt someone, or even kill them? The possibilities were endless. And terrifying.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. You're losing me here." Shigeru crossed his arms, confusion evident on his face. "I have no idea how any of that crap works, but I know the right nerd for this situation." Shigeru pressed a button on his desk to summon the guards standing outside. "Get this guy to Haruka on the double!"

Seconds later Satoshi was taken to yet another area. At least he was no longer handcuffed.

Whoever this Haruka was, she knew how to live the lavish life. The house was wide and two stories tall, flawlessly cleaned and maintained. After crossing the small courtyard, they reached the double-sliding doors. The guards knocked.

"MOTHER FU-" An explosion interrupted the voice and shattered the window on the second floor. The force propelled a young female out the window, said woman crashing roughly onto the ground behind Satoshi and the two escorts. Speechless, Satoshi could only watch as the woman slowly stood up, brown hair disheveled and smoke seeping from her once white and gold gown. She dusted off her charred clothes and patted down her frayed hair. A tense moment passed as the goggle-wearing woman stared awkwardly at the group.

"Did...did you just get blown out the window?" It was a stupid comment, but Satoshi was too stunned to think of anything else to say.

The woman pulled up the goggles, fierce sapphire eyes glaring at the man like he grew a second head. "What of it, Sherlock?" She spoke with a degrading tone. Her young face might have been cute if it wasn't for that irritated scowl of hers.

"N...nothing." Yep, that shut him up.

"We have orders to bring this man-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got the memo. I'll take it from here boyscouts, so go back to watching some dust bunnies running down the class halls." She jerked her thumb back at the security headquarters, which sat in the middle of the enormous industrial city. As the guards left, she unlocked the front door. "Pick up that jaw and come in already. The fire won't put itself out." Satoshi hurried inside.

After putting out the fire in the laboratory on the second floor, Satoshi was told to be seated. All kinds of devices, flask, and machinery strewn about like toys given to a messy child. Whatever she was doing in the laboratory charred the room something awful, creating a smell of smoke, something metallic and, oddly enough, strawberries.

Pulling up a chair across from him, the goggle-wearing girl sighed as she crossed her arms and legs. But something about that Skitty of hers scampering about and resting on her head made her seem a lot less threatening, though he knew better than to voice anything about it. He might have chuckled if he didn't feel like a problem child who was about to receive a lecture. "I was briefed on the situation, so spare me your life's story. You couldn't have come at a worse time if you'd tried."

_'Story of my life.'_ Satoshi thought despairingly.

"So now I'm forced to babysit you until we can figure out what to do with you. Since we're going to be housemates-"

"Housemate? I just want to go home. I've had more than I can take from this crazy place." The idea of getting chased around and shot at was not the ideal setting he sought after. The sooner he left the better.

"You don't have a choice." She said blantantly. "Trust me, the last thing I want is _another_ pain in the ass housemate."

"Why can't I leave? I don't belong here."

"You do now." The blunt way she spoke made him feel sick and irritated, gritting back the building stress in his chest. "Since Shigeru is a lazy bum, I will explain and answer any non-classified questions. This will be hard to take in. Are you ready?"

Swallowing hard, he nodded. "Y-yes ma'am."

"First off, cut that out. I'm not some bloody old tart; hell, I'm only seventeen. The name's Haruka Magnis."

He jumped at the name. That last name was all too familiar. "Magnis? Does that mean-"

"No relation to your girlfriend, Hikari Magnis. It's only a mere coincidence, so don't look too deep into it." She continued, ignoring his shocked expression. "You've just bumbled your way into the elite military academy. We take in and train gifted individuals to support the world from behind the scenes. We're a secret military power only a chosen few know exist. Welcome to Arcadia, the school of mastery." She didn't sound very welcoming about it. "Schools like Arcadia are the key reason outlanders haven't killed each other yet. Outlanders, meaning you," She pointed at Satoshi, "and everyone not from or enrolled in Arcadia. Governments hire us from all over to take care of all kinds of situations. We even take care of global crisis's time to time to help protect the outlands. Any questions so far?"

Satoshi ran a frustrated hand down his face. Of all the places in this entire world his bad luck could have possibly dragged him into. "So I ended up getting teleported to a super secret organization? And my uncle actually attends this school? ...I'm supposed to believe this, aren't I?"

"Yep." Was it him, or did she enjoy the stupefied expression he made? "Matter of fact, if anyone else except Aaron sent you here, we would have had to either imprison you for life or silence you on the spot. After all, if some random person showed up to a place that's meant to be a world secret and managed to get out and spread the word, that would be more catastrophic than you can possibly imagine. Let's see if you're smart enough to draw a conclusion from this."

Satoshi paled.

"I...I'm stuck here...!"

"Bingo!" Haruka snapped her fingers almost mockingly. Was she some sort of sadist?

"B-but...no, this can't be happening. Please tell me I'm just having another nightmare!" Dropping his head into his hands, his stomach twisting uncomfortably tight. All he wanted to do today was propose to the love of his life. But no, fate decided to, once again, give him the worst possible scenario that could happen. What hurt the worse was that now he would never get to be with Hikari.

His life was officially over.

Haruka's eyes softened as she turned and fiddled with broken pieces of equipment on the table. The cat on her head purred as it curled up into her hair. "You really love that girl of yours, huh?" Satoshi nodded, too sullen to speak. The sounds of clanking metal filled their silence as Haruka busied herself. Then she spoke up again. "If I offered you a chance to see her again, would you take it?"

"Yeah, but like you said, I can't leave. I'm trapped."

"I also said outlanders hire us to take care of jobs. That means actually going out there to take care of their dirty work. Of course, you can only accept missions if you're a student. Unfortunately, you can't enroll yourself since you're not an approved citizen." A smile tugged at the corner of her pink lips. "But I can."

Satoshi slowly looked up at Haruka, a feeling like heaven was giving him a second chance washing over him. But he was no fool; she wanted something. "What do you want from me?"

Haruka stopped her fiddling and gave him, as he called it, the devil's grin. "I've heard some interesting things about you. So tell me, has your body undergo some special changes? Supernatural even?"

"Supernatural?" Not that she would believe the story about him surviving a pointblank headshot or somehow teleporting without a relay. Even he didn't really believe it.

"Don't worry, I would know if you're lying. You can't hide secrets from me."

...Now she was getting just plain spooky. He didn't say anything when she seemed to know of Hikari without him mentioning her, but now this? "How are you doing that?"

"What, reading your mind?"

How could anyone say something like that with a straight face? This girl was something else. "Ah, y-yes!"

The girl gave a blank look. "Huh...so outlanders haven't encountered psychics before?"

There was a thick pause as he tried to let her words sink in. It was like having someone tell you santa was real when trying to convince yourself it was otherwise. Worse yet, she put it in a way that made it seem as if it was an obvious fact. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm serious. Well, technically I'm more of a psyker. Psychics are people who use their skills like parlor tricks. But psykers use their skills for more combative and life-threatening situations. But there's a lot about psionic powers that get confused with myths. I mean, I can do stuff like flying and hurl stuff at people, but I can't read your life's story unless you think it." Her tone gave strong evidence of boasting. This girl was so…

"That's just...wow..." he was honestly impressed. In all the cartoons and games he had seen and played, that was one of the supernatural gifts he always hoped existed. Part of him was glad.

Another part of him was horrified.

"Your turn. I only got small bits of info from Shigeru and my assistant who happened to be in the area at the time. You'll meet him later. For now, you're going to tell me the rest, in full detail. Leave nothing out."

"Okay. It happened like this..." Satoshi went over the details of his surreal discovery, from teleporting to a spot without a relay up to the battle with the red haired woman who shot him in the face, a moment that still haunts him.

As he explained the events, even he found himself unable to believe what had transpired. He was no stranger to bad luck; it followed him daily. But he did not think anyone else in the world could hold a candle to getting whisked away to a underground organization as huge as Arcadia. Already he was missing the days of traffic accidents and random thugs who always seem to find him and want him dead.

Haruka's surprised expression never faltered. Even as he finished, her jaw was agape and her eyes wide. No one could blame her; it was quite a sci-fi tale. "You did all that! B-b-but that's impossible! I mean...I can't even..." She started mumbling to herself, using her fingers to run mental calculations. For a moment, a look of epiphany ran across her face and she consulted the PDA on her table. Her eyes whipped back and forth between him and the machine, slowly putting two and two together.

Satoshi did not like where this was going.

"You're..." She started, her voice trembling, "You're a walking phenomena...and I have first dibs! HELL YEAH!" She jumped and cheered her heart out, bouncing like a child who won a billion credits. Without warning she snatched his arm and hauled him out the room. "W-what's going on?"

"No time to explain! Quickly, to the testing area!" Haruka dashed downstairs while bursting out the seams with happiness. Poor Satoshi was unable to resist, pleas and struggles useless against the young scientist.

…He definitely did not like where this was going.

Several hours were spent in Haruka's 'special' lab, where she does her intense research and experimentation. For her, this was a major breakthrough that held an infinite number of possibilities, or so she said. As far as Satoshi was concerned, a crazy girl was putting him through creepy and borderline insane experiments.

Losing all his clothes was only the start of the madness. Any resistance on his part ended with the girl's telekinesis forcing his body to bend to her will; literally. He could barely understand half her science lingo, but words like "adaptive mutation" and "negative energy absorption" did not help his frayed nerves. On the bright side, he learned something new about Haruka.

She's a true mad scientist.

Night, or whatever Arcadians considered night, fell hours before the torture ended, leaving the Pokenoid drained and scarred for life. The mad scientist had to report her "miracle" findings to some R&D department, so he was directed to his room to sleep in. After everything that happened, sleep was his miracle. If only for this moment, he wanted to pretend this was all some weird, realistic dream.

A sound awoke Satoshi, grumbling under his breath. A look at the built-in digital wall clock caused him to frown. _'What the heck is that girl doing so late in the morning?' _With a yawn, he stood up and made his way through the dark halls of Haruka's home. Arcadia sure knew how to redefine dark; it was pitch black except for a few safety lights lined along the walls, which barely illuminated his path. With luck he managed to find a light switch and flicked it. The kitchen lights turned on.

The dark clothed infiltrator stopped just before exiting the window.

Satoshi froze as he stared at the thief, face covered with enough cloth to conceal all but green eyes. A curse left the masked woman's lips as she dropped the metal case she was carrying.

His luck never ceased to amaze him.

"Uh...I-I didn't see anything!" Satoshi had a feeling that didn't work. That never worked.

As predicted, the assailant attacked him.


End file.
